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Residents tell city they want trees preserved
By Brandi Hart, McKinney Courier-Gazette
The McKinney City Council heard residents' concerns about ensuring that a developer preserves trees in a section of Stonebridge subdivision and opposition to the city approving any action for future municipal utility districts that may be built near the city limits.
The council voted to table action at its regular meeting on a request by Eldorado Holdings Inc. to rezone 35.57 acres northwest of the Virginia Parkway and Ridge Road intersection. The council wanted the developer to explain to residents who live near the intersection what it plans to do to the property.
Council member at large Bill Cox had numerous questions about the request, including if Eldorado Holdings Inc., the developer of the project, had completed a tree survey for the site.
However, resident Robb Temple, who lives in the 300 block of Creekside, recently said in a public hearing at a P&Z meeting, which was previously reported in the McKinney Courier-Gazette, that he, along with the homeowners' association is not opposed to the rezoning request, but he would like to know what the area is going to look like. He reiterated that at the Tuesday council meeting when he spoke during the public hearing.
Mike Brown, who lives in the 5800 block of Creekside Court near the intersection, praised the council and city staff for ensuring a developer did not cut down a line of 250-year-old oak trees near his property, but expressed concern about the tree ordinance not having enough power to protect trees.
Planning Director Melissa Henderson said she believes most of the residents who live near the site are concerned about the trees being preserved, but that issue will come about in the next phase, which is the platting phase. Henderson said the developer has been very helpful with working with the city to move the tree buffer to save some fairly large trees on the property. A tree plan, along with a creek survey would be required to be completed by the developer for the property, Henderson said.
Mayor Pro Tem Brian Loughmiller asked if the developer could meet with nearby residents about what will be built there. The developer should meet with residents who live near the intersection within the next two weeks.
The council also approved an ordinance designating an enterprise zone to be created, and approved a resolution nominating the Torchmark Corp., the parent company of United American Insurance, as an enterprise project to the Governor's Office.
The city can offer an additional 5 percent tax abatement over and above the normal percentage granted for tax abatement on the increase in real property value improvement and eligible personal property that locate in the enterprise zone; give a Freeport tax exemption on qualifying inventory; give priority for receipt of community development block grant money; establish accelerated permit procedures and through providing services, give priority to local economic development, educational, job training or transportation programs that benefit the zone. All council members approved the resolution and the ordinance, except for Council member Gilda Garza. She questioned how the Governor's Office would monitor if Torchmark would meet the requirements of having at least 25 percent of employees being from the designated enterprise zone and if they are classified as low income. Torchmark was nominated as an enterprise project by the city in 2006, but was not selected by the Governor's Office for the project.
Assistant City Manager Regie Neff said the city has nominated four or five businesses to be enterprise businesses, including Blockbuster and Encore Wire.
The council also approved a site plan for Fitzhugh Park, at the northeast corner of Lindsey Street and Rockwall Street. The plan includes the expansion of the parking lot at the park to have nine spaces. The council also approved a site plan for Wattley Park, located at the east terminus of Charleston Street, approximately 600 feet south of U.S. 380.
An amendment to the alarm ordinance was approved by the council, which will increase the existing annual permit fees by $25 for residential alarm users and $50 for commercial alarm users. If someone is currently paying an annual residential permit fee of $25, the fee will now be $50, and the current $50 commercial permit fee will now be $100. The police department asked to amend the ordinance to address the growing number of responses made to false alarms calls.
Numerous people stayed throughout the meeting and spoke in the public comment period, two of which were unhappy about the city possibly approving any municipal utility districts in the city limits or the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction, such as the Stover Creek district, which could be included in the city's ETJ if the state Legislature approves the creation of the district. The city approved zoning and site plans for the Trinity Falls district last fall, which is located in the city's ETJ, so the residents who will live there will not pay city taxes. They will, however, pay McKinney ISD taxes as the MUD is in the McKinney ISD.
Bill Delaney, who lives in the Ridge Crest subdivision, said he is opposed to the city possibly approving any requests for additional MUDs.
“I want to show a unified front. I'm from California and from what I read in my homeowners' association bulletin that over all, MUDs are not a good thing,” Delaney said.
He also said the city might have created a precedence when it approved a MUD. Delaney added the city might be sued if it does not allow additional districts to be included in its ETJ.
Ron Gossling told the council in the public comment period that he wants the council to consider a petition about a referendum on MUDS and asked the council to “please put a stop to the MUD slides.”
Another resident said he is opposed to MUDS as they are not in the city limits, so people who live there do not pay city taxes.
Loughmiller said during the council comment period that he is working on an economic impact study on MUDs and has spoken with two county commissioners about MUDs and how they impact cities and the counties.
Terry Lee also spoke in the public comment period and said he was concerned about the parking lot at Fitzhugh Park becoming a “crime-infested area” if it's expanded. He said after the meeting that speed bumps are needed in the Trinity Heights subdivision, which is located north of Wilmeth Road on State Highway 5 as drivers are speeding throughout the area. Lee also wants more speed limit signs posted in the subdivision. If speed limits are not posted on city streets the speed limit is 30 mph.
In other news, the council:
€Approved a contract with Pogue Construction to be the construction management at risk services for pre-construction and construction of Fire Station No. 7, which will be 13,500 square feet at 900 South Independence Parkway and should be completed by spring 2008;
€Approved the preliminary-final plat for the Serenity subdivision located on 61.01 acres on the north side of Country Club Road, immediately east of the Heard Natural Science Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary;
€Approved the naming of the 6-acre park north of Minshew Elementary School to be called Horizon Park;
€Approved the naming of the 10-acre park north of Wilmeth Elementary School to be called the Carey Cox Memorial Park, after the late McKinney resident, who co-founded Collin County Community College, and who was Councilman Cox's father;
€Council member Bill Vitz said he understands that city staff, such as Assistant Director of Engineering Michael Hebert and others, are trying to get the healthy creeks project started, which the council discussed at a workshop Monday, but the staff members need money to do that. Vitz added the city has a great, hardworking staff across the board, including in the engineering and planning departments.
Contact staff writer Brandi Hart at hartb@acnpapers.com. To post comments online, access this story at www.scntx.com.
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